Taio Lawson Unveils Inaugural Season as Bush Theatre’s Artistic Director

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New works by Titas Halder, Chris Fung, Alaa Shehada, Mei Leng Yew, and Laith Elzubaidi will headline the 2026-27 season.

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The Bush Theatre has announced its first season under Artistic Director and Co-CEO Taio Lawson and Interim Executive Director and Co-CEO Angela Wachner, unveiling a lineup of new plays, returning productions, and partnerships with leading theatre companies from the UK and beyond.

The season includes the world premieres of TITAS HALDER 's Darkling, Chris Fung 's Global Majority, and Alaa Shehada's The Bridge, alongside the return of Laith Elzubaidi's sold-out hit Insane Asylum Seekers. In the Studio, audiences can also see The Hungry Ghost from New Earth Theatre, ATTENTION following its acclaimed Dublin Fringe run, and Ripples from Stand and Be Counted.

"It's a genuinely heady experience to announce a first season of work at the Bush," Lawson said. "We hope to enliven both the hearts and minds of our audiences, with feelings that linger and memories that endure."

The season begins in August with Before We Forget, a new production created by the Bush Young Company's 18-25 ensemble and directed by Amber Ruby . The production explores memory, technology, and humanity in a world facing a looming data collapse.

Among the major productions in the Holloway Theatre is Darkling, Halder's epic drama inspired by the 1984 Bhopal disaster, directed by Matthew Xia . Following its London run, the production will tour to Birmingham, Oxford, and Manchester. The autumn slate also includes The Bridge, a new solo show from Scotsman Fringe First winner Alaa Shehada, which combines storytelling, stand-up, and physical comedy to examine family, displacement, and life under occupation.

Chris Fung 's thriller Global Majority arrives in November, blending political intrigue and family drama in a story described as "Black Mirror meets Succession." The season concludes in the Holloway with Insane Asylum Seekers, transferring to the main stage after a sold-out Studio engagement.

The Studio season features Olivier Award nominee Mei Mac in The Hungry Ghost, a supernatural horror-romance written by Mei Leng Yew and directed by Ailin Conant. Later productions include ATTENTION, a queer relationship drama co-created by Jules Head and Georgia Bruce , and Ripples, a new work from Theatre Company of Sanctuary Stand and Be Counted.

Alongside the productions, the Bush has announced the appointment of Olivia Poglio-Nwabali as Literary Manager and Lead Dramaturge and Frey Kwa Hawking as Associate Dramaturge. The theatre also plans to relaunch its unsolicited script submissions process this summer.

The Bush Theatre 's 2026-27 season runs from August 2026 through March 2027.

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_Originally reported by [BroadwayWorld](https://www.broadwayworld.com/westend/article/Taio-Lawson-to-Launch-First-Season-as-Artistic-Director-at-Bush-Theatre-20260618)._